(By Ken's Oven, who reports that this was his very first sculpted cake. Sweet!)

I've had a soft spot for the Queen of Hearts ever since John and I made elaborate Queen & cards costumes one year for Halloween. (We roped a gaggle of guys into going as cards, too, so we made quite the impression marching en masse through Disney.) So naturally, I had to find some Queen cakes:

I'm making an Alice in Wonderland cake for my friend's sweet sixteen [I'm sixteen, too. This won't end well.] next weekend. I've been lacking the drive to get anything done and designed. This is really inspiring!

thank you so much for featuring my cake! i'm such a huge fan of the site and it's my birthday today and it was like a super amazing surprise birthday present to see my cake on Sunday Sweets! thanks for linking to my blog (which is empty at the moment, but will be filling it up soon!) but the website i use more often is flickr - www.flickr.com/artisancakes

again, thank you so much Jen for featuring my cake you have really made my birthday extra special!

For those saying the card on the Mad Hatter's hat is a mistake: this is a perfect reproduction of the original illustrations of the mad hatter. He wears a sign just like that on his own hat to advertise that people can purchase a hat "in this style" for 10 shillings, 6 pence. Here is a link to some of the illustrations of the hatter from the original book:http://www.krepcio.com/vitreosity/archives/MadHatter-ALL-illus600.jpg

As you can see, the cake replicates it faithfully! Not a wreck at all!

The "In this Style" is not a wrecky bit. I'm sure a bunch of other posters are going to say this and it'll end up another Epcot but I'll take my chances.

The card is an order to make the style of the hat for 10 shillings sixpence. I learned that ages ago when I read Alice in Wonderland for an 8th grade project. The illustrator for the book Sir John Tenniel, drew the hat that way, with a card that says "In this Style 10/6". Disney eliminated the "In this Style" bit for simplicity.

I love love love this blog by the way. I have it in my bookmarks and check every morning for new wreckie goodness. I love Sunday Sweets as well. The cakes today are especially beautiful and close to my heart because I love everything Alice.

Lola et al are right, of course. In the classic illustrations, the tag on the hat says, "In This Style, 10/6" (i.e. the price is 10 shillings sixpence).Take, for example, this one:http://hatta-wiki.org/+download/mad%20hatter.jpg

I'm not interested in any of Disney's vandalizations of classic literature.

Anonymous said:Interesting plastic figurines, but where are the cakes?

I've got to agree with Anony here. These are interesting ornaments, but none of them seem the least bit edible.

To qualify as a cake, I think it's got to be made of cake materials, like flour, sugar, butter, nuts ... and it has to be something a sensible person would want to eat. Plastic doesn't really meet either of these criteria.

I can just see Alice looking at the Queen of Hearts cakes and thinking to herself,"Aha! Revenge! Off with HER head!" Ok so that's just me probably lol. But I blame my husband for inspiring that comment hehe. All of them are too lovely for me to even think of someone cutting into one.

To John (thoJ):OK, maybe gum paste and fondant are "edible" in the sense that it wouldn't cause you any immediate harm if you ate them. However, that doesn't make them food. As far as I know, it wouldn't hurt me to eat a few sheets of carboard. But a cardboard sculpture, no matter how good a work of art, is not cake.

I'm not a nut about cake purity. I've defended pictures of cookies and pies as being types of cake when they appeared on this site. But, again, cake means something most people would eat. I don't mind fondant creations as "wrecks," because, after all, these are presented as cakes gone wrong. But for the "good" cakes, I'd like to see more examples of what you can do with actual food ingredients-- not just modeling materials that happen to be non-toxic.

(Does anybody here know what "fondant" really is? I don't. It looks like some kind of neon-colored modeling clay, or malleable sealing wax.)

You know, I really get where Gary is coming from on this. To me, while impressive and pretty, these fondant cakes never look like something I would want to eat. It almost seems like there should be two categories: technical and everyday. I would love to see some recognition for everyday beautiful cakes, iced and decorated with buttercream. It is very difficult to do a lovely and creative job with tasty frosting (I know from experience!) so I think it would be neat to see some like that in the sunday sweets.

I personally think you need to taste some fondants before saying that you wouldn't want to eat them. I've used and tasted many very good fondants, so if you use the proper materials, they are definitely edible. And I don't know about you, but once I have pictures of pretty cakes that use fondant, I have no problem cutting and serving :P

Okay, I have to speak up in defence of rolled fondant as well - granted, most adults aren't especially interested in eating large amounts of it, but most kids DEFINITELY ARE. I make fondant figures for most of my family's birthday cakes, and they are always devoured gleefully by any children present. And I cover cakes with fondant too, and the adults always eat that. Like anything edible, it's a matter of personal taste - personally I can't stand oysters, but I'm willing to call them food! :)

In a large bowl, stir together the shortening and corn syrup. Mix in the salt and vanilla flavoring, then gradually mix in the confectioners' sugar until it is a stiff dough. If you are using a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment. Otherwise, knead by hand. If the dough is sticky, knead in more confectioners' sugar until it is smooth. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.To use, roll out on a clean surface that has been dusted with confectioners' sugar until it is 1/8 inch thick or thinner if you can. Drape over frosted and chilled cakes and smooth the sides down, or cut into strips to make bows and other decorations.

Sorry to be so snide about it, but...well Jeez, give me a stinkin' break.

Sweet! love the caterpillar cake! i want one for my birthday! These also serve me as more inspiration for my jewelry collection. Incase you're like Alice and curious to check it out so far: http://www.blugrndesign.com/shop/aliceinwonderland.html

I disapprove of this post! No original Disney version Mad Hatter cakes! D: Now pardon me while this rabid fangirl goes in search of a corner in which to curl up and cry. *pouts* Or perhaps it's time to go to Google...I love the original Mad Hatter... Much better than the orange-haired freak everyone knows of now...

Search This Blog

Wreck the Halls

NEW! Pre-Order Today!

Buy the Book

Buy the NYT Bestseller

What's a Wreck?

What's a Wreck?

A Cake Wreck is any cake that is unintentionally sad, silly, creepy, inappropriate - you name it. A Wreck is not necessarily a poorly-made cake; it's simply one I find funny, for any of a number of reasons. Anyone who has ever smeared frosting on a baked good has made a Wreck at one time or another, so I'm not here to vilify decorators: Cake Wrecks is just about finding the funny in unexpected, sugar-filled places.

order

Where's the book?

We don’t have any copies of Cake Wrecks for sale here, autographed or otherwise. We decided the shipping and handling costs would be too high to make it worth your while. So instead, buy your copies locally or online and then order personalized bookplates: it’s cheaper, easier, and I think even looks a bit nicer.

Ordering Info

Payments must be made through Paypal, which accepts all major credit cards. Sorry, but that means no checks or MOs or barter-based chickens.

We ship everything first class USPS, and will do our best to have your package in the mail within 2 days of your order.